Modern Warfare, Breaking the Record
by akagisenpai
Summary: Months after the events of Modern Warfare 2, MacTavish and Price were branded as traitors in cooperating with Makarov in attacking the United States. The new Task Force 172 was designed especially to eliminate these three primary targets.
1. Chapter 1

Day after day the world sinks into deeper chaos. More and more Russian forces have retreated from the United States after Washington D.C. was retaken by the rangers. The news of General Shepherd's assassination by Task Force 141 struck all the rangers on the battlefield. Shepherd, the righteous and honourable General who fought against the terrorist Makarov in an attempt to protect the country, was instead betrayed by his own people.

Task Force 141 was abolished by the Secretary of Defence after the captains John Price and John MacTavish was branded as traitors to the country for alliance with Vladmir Makarov in violent acts against the government. Both MacTavish and Price are being charged with trapping the rest of Task Force 141 in an attempt to obtain enemy intelligence in Afghanistan, but as a result the Task Force was annihilated and no intelligence was found. Gary, I swear I will avenge you, even if it is the last thing I do.

My name is Terry Lysander, originally a corporal in the in the US Army Rangers, but recently promoted to serve a special force the country after Washington D.C. fell. The capital city was moved away, and a temporary house of commands was established in Manhattan, New York. The elites of the US Army, Navy, Air Force, picked specifically to form the all new Task Force 172. Our primary objective was to eliminate Makarov, Price and MacTavish.

"Okay, listen up folks. I know this ain't the rangers no more, but the majority of you came with me from the rangers. You can still call me Sergent Foley. I don't like the crap about call signs in the Task Force, so we can all scrap this and call each other by whatever that makes you guys comfortable. Am I clear?"

Sergent Foley was promoted to the head of Task Force 172 after his efforts in aiding the retaking of Washington D.C. when the Russians attacked. A portion of his squad was promoted to the Task Force. I was given the call sign Terry "Tank" Lysander, since in training I was like a tank and I was immune from any kind of pain. "Tank, are you listening?" Foley calls.

"Yes sir, I got that." I replied. The rest of the Task Force stared around. I was assigned to Task Force 172 Alpha, a team of six lead by Sergent Foley. Panther and Rock are the experts in sniping, and Roast is our primary IT operator in the force. The last member is Sonar, like me, we have mastery in both assault rifles and pistols. I heard that Sonar used to be in Sergent's Foley squad during the retaking of Washington D.C., known as the Battle of Whiskey. I think his name was, uh, that's right. James Ramirez, one of the few veterans who survived the battle.

"Intel shows that Makarov was last sighted in Copenhagen, Denmark. We have no idea what Makarov is doing there, but intel shows he tried to keep a low profile." Foley starts. "It doesn't look like Makarov has a lot of bodyguards around him, so it will be the perfect opportunity to capture him."

"Why would Makarov be hiding in Denmark? I thought he was targeting the both us and the Russians." Panther starts. "This is weird. He must be dealing arms or hiring more gunmen there."

"I have never heard of people hiring terrorists in Denmark." Sonar adds. "He must be dealing with something else. Something that can jeopardize his operations since he limited his number of bodyguards."

"Anyway, intelligence shows that Makarov will be having some kind of transaction in a hotel located downtown called the "Scandic" tomorrow afternoon at 16:00. We have permission from the government there and will be ambushing the hotel. Alpha team will infiltrate the hotel through the roof, Bravo will be providing exterior watch of the hotel, and Charlie will be securing any escape routes from the hotel." Foley starts. "We cannot do a massive evacuation since it will attract a lot of attention and jeopardize the entire operation. Does everyone understand?"

After the briefing and many hours later, we finally set our feet on the streets of Copenhagen. At about 15:45, alpha team positioned on the roof with everybody in casual clothing to blend in with the rest of the population.

"Bravo snipers in position." A Bravo sniper calling from outside.

"Team Charlie secured all escape routes. Alpha Team, you're clear to proceed."

"Roger that. Alpha team moving in." Foley orders. "Nobody in Charlie is holding a rifle right? Just to make sure."  
"Negative." One soldier says, and followed by the rest of the team. Foley pulls out his USP.45 and proceeds to the door.

The doors open, and the fire escape was pitch dark.

"Sonar, how much training have you had for stealth operations?" I asked.

"Not much. I was a ranger and all we ever did was attack enemies up front. But I am pretty confident with the knife."

"Same here." I said. Gary and I used to be in the same division before he was promoted into Task Force 141. We were known to have the most proficient use of knives. Doesn't matter if it was swinging, parrying or throwing the knife, we were aces in our division.

"Hold it, two guards are walking out of the conference room up front." Foley starts. "Looks like our intel was off; Makarov has the whole floor controlled."

The two guards then walked out of chattering, away from the line of sight in the conference room.

"Take them out, suppressed weapons only." Foley says. "Panther and Rock."

The two guards fell immediately, while Sonar and I dragged the two bodies in to a more secluded area.

"Foley calling all teams: Change of plans, there are hostages in the premises. We are going to breach and clear the room. All teams secure all exits for signs of Makarov escaping."

"Team Bravo copy." The commander of Bravo replies. Team Charlie acknowledges the transmission afterwards. "Sergeant, just a quick question…how are you going to breach without any explosives?"

"We're breaking the door down by force. Tank, do you think you can do it in one try?"

"Yes sir." I said. "I'm not called the Tank for being frail."

"Tank, Sonar, grab the AK47's from the soldiers and breach. We're going loud." Foley orders. "Eliminate all hostiles and pursue Makarov. Roast, do you have a copy of the floor plan here  
yet?"

"Yes sir, just got it." Roast said, looking at the computer screen. "There is one staircase out of the conference room on the far end. That can be Makarov's escape plan."

"Okay. The Roast, Panther, Rock, you three pursue Makarov and whatever people are involved. We need these people alive. Breach and clear, go!"

I pull a fire extinguisher out from the hallway and placed it next to the door. I pointed my USP towards the can, and gave it three shots. Immediately the door blows apart, Sonar and I breached the room and quickly took down as many enemies as we could.

"Go!" Foley calls, entering the room and running through the hostage crowds. "Don't let Makarov get away, go!"

Sonar and I looked shot the man in a suit, standing in the middle of the room. The two of us suppressed him. He looked like some sort of businessman; not a terrorist.  
"Makarov's men blew out the tunnel!" Roast calls through the radio. "He is currently running towards the east side of the building. Team Bravo, prepare for sniping!"

Sonar and I poked our heads through the window, and one by one Makarov's men were hunted down by Team Charlie and Bravo. Still, no sign of Makarov.

"Sergeant, I don't see Makarov anywhere." Someone from Team Bravo calls. "He is not visible in any escape routes.

"Damn it, this is not possible." Foley curses. "Keep your eyes open, he has to be here. Are there any civilian causality so far?"

"Negative, sir. Other then Makarov's men scaring people with a few gunshots, nobody's hurt." Team Charlie calls.

"Negative, I do not see Mak-" suddenly, the radio cuts silent.

"What the hell was that?" Foley asks.

"Makarov is on the south! I repeat, Makarov has escaped from the –" a gunshot came through the radio, followed by a moment of silence. I quickly ran to the south side of the room checking out the windows. Makarov.

"Sonar, let's go, he's on the south." I said, quickly running up to the roof. Within seconds, we have spotted the Makarov running down on the streets of Copenhagen.

"Sergeant, I have spotted Makarov on the southern streets. I am going after him." I said. "Roast, do you have a clear sight of Makarov?"

"Tank, Makarov is heading towards Vester street, towards the ocean. Do you have a way to get off the buildling?"

A cleaning external elevator was placed outside the building on the roof to assist the workers to clean windows. Sonar and I quickly lowered ourselves from the building.

"Sonar, do you have a shot at Makarov?" I said.

"Negative; he's too far away." Sonar says. "He's headed for the waters."

About a minute or two, Sonar and I quickly ran across the streets with cars running towards us. As soon as we got to the edge of the waters, Makarov already escaped on a boat, leaving us watching from the shore. Damn it.

"Sir, Makarov got away." I said.

"Don't worry. We caught the dealer." Foley starts. "All teams, head to the extraction point; we have some serious interrogating to do tonight."


	2. Chapter 2

"Sir, any luck with the hostage?" Roast asks, after Foley re-enters the room after proceeding with the interrogation.

"Negative. He is a black market dealer in the Middle-East, but the intelligence he had was useless to us." Foley replies. "He knows nothing that can lead us to Makarov."

"Damnit." I said. "Makarov can be anywhere now."

Just then, Panther came in dropping in a stack of satellite images on to the table. Images of a Pavelow are on them, flying across certain areas in northern Asia.

"What's this?" Foley asks. "We need information on Makarov not pictures of your brother's model airplanes here."

"Forget about Makarov at the moment." Panther starts. "This Pavelow has been identified to be the exact same Pavelow that was selected for TF141 missions."

Roast quickly grabbed the satellite images and examined them. "No doubt. That's the same Pavelow."

"Are you certain?" Foley says. "How would you know?"

"I know the pilot." Roast starts. "Under the alias Nikolai."

Foley opens his laptop and reads the incoming mail that he just received. The screen on the Task Force 172 then changes, showing the briefing of a new mission.

"These images were taking at a military base in Nothern Gansu, just south of Mongolia." Rock reports. "The Pavelow is believed to be piloted by the Russian informant for TF141, Nikolai."

"Over the past three days we have spotted the Pavelow to be landing in an armoured shelter." Panther says, pointing the laser pointer towards the screen. "We believe MacTavish and Price are both hiding there with Nikolai."

"Our mission is to infiltrate the shelter and capture the two." Foley orders, then presses a few keys on his keyboard, pulling out the objectives section on the large screen. "The shelter is heavily armed with Russian patrols. Intel shows they have mobile sam sites so we cannot make a drop from the top."

"We have a good chance that MacTavish knows where Makarov is. We need him alive." Sonar says. "Sergeant, how is the team divided?"

"Roast and Tank will infiltrate the North entrance of the facility." Foley starts. "Panther and Rock will standby in the Pavelow providing cover from outside. Watch out for any targets from the sam sites. I will go with Sonar and infiltrate from the South entrance. Roast, rendezvous at the security room in the west wing of the facility."

Roast and I sat still on the Pavelow as Alpha team chattered before the mission. I pulled out my USP.45 I had and connected a silencer in front.

"Looks like we got some really neat weapons this time." Sonar says. "I have never seen a M4A1 with holographic sight and a heartbeat sensor before."

"We will be needing it for this mission. Better to know where people are before you're found." Roast answers. "Remember your silencers; I don't think the whole place wants to know we're there to catch MacTavish and Price."

"ETA 100 seconds." Foley starts. "Roast, wait for my call before proceeding."

After being dropped off at the Northern entrance, Roast and I waited silently behind several trees near the entrance waiting for Sergeant Foley's team. Two guards were near the entrance, with several lights lighting the area.

"Security is pretty light here." I said. A second later, two more guards show up near the entrance. "Maybe not."

"Take the two on the right. On my count." Roast starts. "Three, two one."

The moment Roast counts to one, the two of us fired our M4A1s at the guards. The four of them fell instantly and no alarm was made.

"Excellent. Pull the bodies into the shadows, we don't want anyone to see this." Roast orders. I nodded, and followed him towards the entrance. After dealing with the bodies, I grabbed an identification card from one of the bodies and walked up to the blast doors.

"Watch out for any guards around the corner. Your heartbeat sensor will show if there is anyone there." Roast starts. Proceeding through the hallway, my heartbeat sensors beeped once. "I got this one."

Roast takes out his knife, and the next thing I know, the guard around the corner was silenced with a knife in his chest. The security room was near. After another ten minutes of sneaking by, we finally reached the security office.

"You guys are slow." Foley says, with three bodies lying around, all dead. "Roast, tap in the communications."

"Yes sir." Roast says, pushing a body off the computer desk. "Bloody keyboards."

Sonar and I stood by the door, hoping nobody will find out that we are here. After another minute or so, Roast's computer started beeping."

"I got it. MacTavish and Price's room is in the west wing room 476." Roast says. "Sir, permission for me to engage."

"Negative; Roast, you have to stay here and monitor to comms. Tank and Sonar will go; I will do the security." Foley starts. "Move, we don't have much time."

Sonar and I quickly walked down the next hallway, trying to avoid as much guards as possible. Finally, room 476 is right in front of me. I placed a breaching charge on the door with Sonar standing on the other side.

"Breach and clear." I said, then the explosion blows the door apart. Sonar and I rushed inside and aimed our M4A1's. Nothing.

"Sonar to Foley. There is nothing in the room. No sign of MacTavish or Price."

"Copy that." Foley says. "Our location is compromised by that breach. Head to the extraction point immediately. Foley out."

The heartbeat sensor beeps on my M4A1. I quickly turned around, and I barely caught the glimpse of two people running away. "I've spotted them. Sonar, let's go!"

"Negative, your positions are compromised. Tank, evacuate now!" Roast calls through the radio. I ignored him, and then kept running after the two.

"Tank, stop!" Sonar calls, chasing after me as I run down the hallways with the sirens all on. As I was pursuing the MacTavish and Price, guard after guard tried to stop me but one by one I took them down with my combat knife. "Tank, we have to get out of here now!"

"Gunship to Alpha Team," Panther calls. "I see ten plus foot mobiles running inside the facility now. We have to get out of here now."

"Tank, you heard that right? We have to get out now." Sonar calls. Again, I ignored that, and finally I arrived to large hanger with multiple vehicles. I pulled out my M4A1 and aimed at MacTavish.

Price then returns fire at me as I quickly dodged to the side by a crate. I pulled out a grenade from my pack, and just when I was about to pull the pin, Sonar stops me.

"Tank, we need them alive." Sonar says. That's right. I totally forgot about the mission. All this revenge over the two for Gary blurred my judgement. Sonar's right.

"Sorry. Let's just get out of here now." I said. "Sergeant, we are heading to the evac now. Is there a specific route we can take?"

"Negative; it is packed everywhere. We barely got out on time through the south entrance but I am pretty sure that place is blocked now. What's your location, over?"

"The vehicle hanger."

"Tank, we'll take one of the convoys and drive out, let's go!" Sonar shouts. Sonar and I quickly ran down the stairs as more guards opened fire at us. Price and MacTavish are no where to be seen now.

"Tank, I'll drive; Get on the turret!" Sonar orders. Guard after guard appeared behind us as I opened fire on the Gatling gun. As soon as we are out of the shelter, convoy after convoy chased after us. I can see soldiers all on the sides of the road trying to ambush this one convoy running away.

"Tank, Sonar we HAVE to evacuate now. What's your ETA?" Rock calls.

"I don't know how much time have we got?" I replied.

"60 seconds and we have to go! Our location is compromised!"

"Copy that. Sonar step on it!" I shouted, firing another batch of bullets at the pursuing vehicles.

"Enemy has a predator armed with AGM missiles!" Panther calls

"WHAT!?" Sonar shouts, and the next thing I know, I was thrown out of the convoy by a huge explosion coming from the sky.

The next thing I know is a huge blur in my vision, seeing soldier after soldier running behind us. Sonar was on the ground in prone position, firing his M4A1 at the oncoming soldiers

"Tank, tank do you copy? Get out of there, the whole base is coming at you!" Roast shouts. "Get out of there!"

Immediately I got up in pain, with two bullet wounds on my right arm. I pulled on Sonar's utility belt, firing my M4A1 with one hand with no accuracy at all. Suddenly, the extraction Pavelow hovers above us and does a quick gun run on the pursuing soldiers.

"Lower the cable!" I shouted. "Sonar is injured!"  
Roast lowers the cable, and I quickly strapped it on to Sonar's utility belt and mine. The next thing I know, the two of us went flying up in the air. Mission Complete.

Sergeant Foley slams several files on his table, with me standing in front of his desk. I am sure getting it.

"You disobeyed a direct order. Why were you so bent on getting MacTavish and Price?" Foley asks. "You and Sonar could've been killed."

"Sorry sir." I apologized. "That will never happen again."

"I hope so. Write me a detailed report on what happened. I want it by 17:00."

"Yes sir." I said, walking out of Foley's office. Sonar was waiting outside with Roach, obviously waiting to see what Foley wanted to speak with me.

"You alright?" Sonar asks. I nodded, and started walking away. The two of them followed behind me.

"Sorry about everything." I started. "If I didn't pursue them, you wouldn't have been hurt. None of this would've happened."

"Don't be. It's all good." Sonar says.

"Why are you so bent on catching MacTavish and Price anyway?" Roast asks. "What did they do to you?"

"I want to kill them. With my very own hands." I started. "They killed my friend. They betrayed him."

Roast then interrupts my path in front of me, confronting me directly. "MacTavish and Price are no traitors. They would never betrayed anyone."

"My friend died because of them. They set him up with Makarov."

"That is not true." Roast interrupts. "I will find MacTavish and Price and I will prove their innocence. They are not traitors."

"What do you know?" I said, finally in a more roaring and aggressive tone. "It's not like you know them."

Roast didn't say anything else and simply walked away. Sonar and I starred at Roast, didn't know why he was so protective of the two traitors. This is our mission for Task Force 172. To kill enemies and traitors.


	3. Chapter 3

We've had repeated attacks on many of the smaller cities on the east coast of the United States. The war has to end. It will only end when Makarov is captured.

Suddenly, Foley rushes inside the intel room where Sonar, Roast and I were sitting around researching for intel. The three of us stood up to show our greetings to the Sergeant.

"Sir, we still haven't found any information on whereabouts of MacTavish and Price." Roast reports. "It is nearly impossible to find them right now."

"No need for that now. I have a new assignment for you all." Foley says, walking towards his desk in the far end of the room. "We have located MacTavish."

"How?" I asked. "I thought they escaped. Where is he right now?"

"Looks like he got separated with Price. We have him on sight in one the slums in Shanghai." Foley starts. "Sonar and Tank, I want the two of you to head there and bring him back."

"Sir, let me go as well; I am familiar with the slums in Shanghai." Roast offers, trying to help the mission as well. "I know my way around there."

"Negative Roast. You're the only guy who can operate some of the equipment here and I need you in HQ."

"But sir –"

"This is an order." Foley repeats, with a more serious tone. "You two go pick up your equipment. I have a Pavelow ready to depart within two hours."

Sonar and I went to the armoury to stock up on weapons before departing. I picked up the ACR from the wall with some extra magazines, some grenades and flashbangs, with a G18 machine pistol on the side. Sonar took an Intervention sniper rifle and a thermal scope, looking to provide cover for the mission.

"The slums." I said. "There might be some kind of random Chinese militia lurking around there."

"Right…they will open fire regardless of what we say. I wish I knew Chinese now."

"We aren't supposed to fire at them unless we are fired right?"

"Technically that's true, but this is more like a covert operation. We should be quiet and not make such a big ruckus out there."

"Point taken. Let's go." I said, hauling all the equipment out. Roast was standing by the armoury, looking like he had something to say to us. "Roast?"

"Remember, we need MacTavish alive." Roast says. "Don't take his life."

"Bullets don't have eyes." I said, then walking away with Sonar. Roast stood there silently. Roast had never been like that before. This is the first time he warned me not to kill my target, even if accidents occur.

"Boys, as you two are aware this is a fairly dangerous mission." Foley briefs through the radio in the Pavelow. "The Chinese militia are down there and you are trying to keep a low profile as much as possible. I'll be quick. You will be dropped off in one of the city slums of Shanghai. MacTavish is located in one of the motels at the end of the town there named "Tian Tian Motel". We need him alive; knock him out or something. Extraction 07:00 sharp at the rendezvous point. Foley out."

The sun has yet to rise, and the streets were dark and hazy. Several Chinese militia guards walked around from house to house. Sonar and I slowly crouched in from the bushes on the town outskirts.

"Silencers and night vision on." Sonar says. "Keep an eye on your heartbeat sensor; but don't let the beep give away your position. I will be up on the rooftops with a thermal scope. Good luck."

Leaving me alone, slowly I proceeded to the far right building. A guard was taking a smoke there. I aimed down my sight with the ACR and fired. Silently the guard fell, and I quickly dragged his body into the shadows.

"Nice shot." Sonar says, then hunting one other guard on the far corner. "You're clear. Go."

Proceeding down the back lane between the two buildings, I saw two guards approaching me. I quickly dodged to the side of the wall behind two crates.

"We'll have to take them out at the same time. I'll take the one on the right." Sonar says. "Your call."

I then took out my ACR and aimed. Quickly I fired, and Sonar snipes the second guard down. That was nice.

"Tank, I am going to move in. Take out the guard that's walking to the backside of the hotel; I'll meet you there afterwards. Sonar out."

I then silently walked towards the front door of the hotel, and saw a guard just dozing off in the middle of the night. I then aimed down with my ACR again, and fired. He's down. I then proceeded to the back of the motel, and Sonar slides down silently from the ridge.

"Good. MacTavish is on the third floor, we have to keep moving." Sonar says. The two of us opened the back of the unlocked motel door, and up the fire escape. Silently we moved up, and one Chinese militia soldier walked by. I took out my G18 and fired once at the guard. Sonar gives me a thumbs up, and the two of us continued down the hallway. We then stopped in front of room 388.

"Breaching charge on." I said. "Once the door is down, we rush in, grab him, knock him out and run to the extraction point."

"Sounds good." Sonar says. "Ready."

After planting the breaching charge, the door explodes and the two of us rushes in pointing our weapons. Before we could do anything, MacTavish already had his M9 out and fired repetitively at us. I groan out loud as one bullet pierced into my left arm. Moments later, MacTavish jumps out of the window holding a Vector submachine gun, trying to escape.

"Tank you okay?" Sonar asks.

"Yeah I'm fine, I'm going to run after him, you find a way to get around and trap him!" I called. Sonar nods, and quickly runs the opposite direction from where MacTavish left. I jumped outside the window, down on the patio and saw MacTavish running across the streets with the Chinese militia firing at him. Without a second thought, I quickly leaped over, grabbed the railings on the side and did my best to slide down from the third floor. It did hurt pretty badly as soon as I reached the ground.

"Tank I got him in my sight! Keep going after him, when he reaches the town gates I'll stop him there!" Sonar yells. I continued to pursue MacTavish as he fired his vector towards me. Trying to dodge and find cover at the same time, the distance between the two of us were getting bigger and bigger.

Suddenly, I noticed a street sign hanging down from a rooftop on the streets. I took out my G18 and repetitively fired at the sign, dropping it just in front of MacTavish. Now he has nowhere to go. However, the number of Chinese militia soldiers increases from the alarm of gunshots being fired in the slums. MacTavish took the opportunity to find an alternate route inside of the back lanes.

"Sonar!" I called. "MacTavish is in the back lane! I repeat, he is in the back lane!"

"Copy that Tank, just keep running after him!"

I then raised my M9 and aimed. "Sonar, I need to fire! I have to stop him"

"No Tank! We need him unharmed!"

All of a sudden, Sonar was jumping down the rooftop, and landed right on top of MacTavish. I was still holding my ACR, and immediately when I saw MacTavish in front of me, my grudge for avenging Gary rose. I used the back of my ACR and forcefully nailed it on to MacTavish, knocking him out cold.

"You did it." Sonar says, giving me a smile, while I laughed. I laughed because I know, soon, Price will show up. I will catch him, and make the two pay for the sins they have committed in their lifetime.

"Beer's on me when we get back." I said. "Let's –"

All of a sudden, searchlights lit everywhere, and many convoys rushed in with more Chinese militia getting off.

"I guess were pretty loud back there." Sonar says. "Grab MacTavish. Run to the convoys and hijack it."

"How? Look how many people are out there." I replied, but then Sonar takes out a C4 detonator. "What the, when did you…"

A huge explosion occurred not far from the hotel, and everybody's attention was drawn to the explosion. Immediately I ran desperately on to one of the convoy trucks, dumping MacTavish in the back with me and Sonar in the front seats.

"There are RPG's in the back, use them to take out the other convoys!" Sonar yells. "Hold on, it's going to get bumpy!"

After the huge bump that almost threw me and MacTavish out of the car, I leaned back to grab a RPG-7 that was next to MacTavish. Without even aiming, I fired one rocket after another, with explosion after explosion occurring behind us.

"This is TF172 Pavelow! Sonar, Tank what's your ETA?" Panther shouts. "I am seeing a lot of fireworks down there!"

"Start the chopper we're going to jump the convoy!" I yelled. "Sonar, I see the chopper! We need to jump!"

All of us jumped, but I didn't make it out on time. I can feel Sonar pulling my hand and dragging me across the battlefield. However, I swung my hand away as soon as Sonar hopped on to the Pavelow. I am not going to make it.

"Sonar!" I called, in a faint voice. "Leave!"

The next thing I know, the Panther had moved the Pavelow away from the extraction point. I noticed MacTavish was still unconscious next to me. That's good. If I am going down, I am taking you to hell with me. Gary, I'm bringing this traitor to you as a souvenier.


	4. Chapter 4

One punch. Two punches. Three punches. And many more punches after that. After they were done with the punching, they pushed me down and started to beat me with wooden poles. MacTavish was next to me. The two of us were tied to the wrists, and we suffered from punch after punch, beat after beat. The Chinese militia is now holding us captive.

The two of us were dumped back into our cells. We were interrogated in every harsh way the Chinese could; the two of us told them our intentions in trespassing the slums; but none of them believed us. They think MacTavish and I are American and British spies trying to obtain intel from the slums. Well, at least MacTavish got a good beating out of it. I felt nothing.

"Serves you right for what you did." I hissed, trying to lean back on the cold metal bars after a good beating.

"I don't understand, mate." MacTavish replied. "What business do you have with me?"

"You and Price." I started. "You two deserved to die. I would punch you straight in the face right now if I can, but I seeing you like this is satisfying enough."

"I don't know you. What did Price and I do to you?"

I crushed my knuckles together and gave MacTavish a jab across his face.

"Not me." I pulled MacTavish up by his jacket, nailing him across the cell bars. "Gary Sanderson. Gary "Roach" Sanderson, remember how you and Price set him up?"

"What the hell, why would I set him up?" MacTavish asks. "He was like a brother to me and Price!"

"You liar!" I shouted, punching MacTavish repetitively. "Shut up, you liar! You and Price purposely pushed him to his death at the estate!"

Suddenly, the Chinese spies separated the two of us and knocked the two of us down again. About thirty minutes later, we were put in separate cells, apart from each other. The fire in my head cooled down, as I saw MacTavish sitting down on the ground, next to the cell bars.

"Listen mate," MacTavish starts. "I would never set Roach up. Never in a lifetime."

"I still don't trust you." I said. "You cooperated with Makarov and cheated him to the safehouse."

"And what do I get out of killing my own comrades?"

"You and Makarov had a deal."

"Insane. I will never side with a terrorist."

I turned around to MacTavish, then starred straight into his eyes. The eyes of hate and revenge. The man I always wanted to kill is right in front of me.

"Then tell me. Who did Makarov side with?"

"Makarov never take sides. He sheds blood for money. He's out there somewhere, and I will kill find him. And I will kill him."

I stood silent for a moment. I didn't know what to say. All of a sudden, I felt that MacTavish is not the person I had in mind. Maybe something else happened. Something I did not know.

"…Gary was my comrade. My partner when we were in the rangers." I finally said.

"Seriously?" MacTavish says, in astonishment. "So that's why you wanted to avenge him so badly."

"That's correct. When I learned that you and Price were sent to Afghanistan instead, I thought you two purposely set him up to Russia. It was way too coincidental."

"That's not true." MacTavish says, giving me his full attention. "That was Shepherd's story."

"So, mind telling me what really happened?"

MacTavish chuckled a bit. "Shepherd wanted to be a hero. He killed Roach and Ghost down at the estate, grabbed the DSM Intel and left. Branded me and Price traitors."

A sense of guilt immediately went through my chest. I was wrong all along. That is why Price and MacTavish killed Shepherd. They wanted to avenge Gary.

"I didn't know. I am so sorry." I apologize. "Damn, none of this would have happened. We wouldn't be here."

"Chill out, mate. Nobody wanted this to happen, but it happened."

"At least you avenged Gary already."

"Not quite. Shepherd was only a pawn. The real mastermind is Makarov. If it wasn't for Makarov, nothing would have happened." MacTavish explains. "No massacre would have occurred."

"Quite true. Well, it's pointless to talk about it now, we're stuck here for good."

"Not really. I have a plan, but we'll have to do it at two in the morning."

...

"_At two in the morning, the guards will do a shift change. There will only be one guard out there for five minutes. I will get the two of us out of here." MacTavish explains. "Sorry, haven't even caught your name yet."_

"_Terry Lysander." I replied. "Call me Tank."  
_

"_Tank eh. I hope you're invincible like a tank."_

"_Maybe that's why I'm called the tank." I chuckled. "Captain MacTavish, pleased to be working with you."  
_

"_Call me Soap."  
_

…

At two in the morning, I sat quietly and starred into the emptiness. The guard finally walked away for the shift change, leaving the other unattended. Soap then got up and waved to the prison guard.

_"Tong zhi!" _Soap calls. _"Guo lai yi xia!" _(Comrade! Can you come here for a bit?)

The Chinese militia guard acknowledged, and slowly proceeded to the cell holding a Chinese Type 56 assault rifle.

_"Zen yang!? Ni xiang gan ma?"_ The Chinese guard replies, in an angry tone. (What do you want?)

_"Mei shen me…hen jiu mei you chou yan. Fang bian gei wo chou yi chou ma?"_ (Nothing, it's just I haven't had smokes for a while. Mind sparing me one?)

The Chinese guard then laughed out loud, and then leaned his face closer to the cell bars. He suddenly stopped laughing, and replied with a sturdy voice in English. "No."

"Yes." Soap says, then pokes his hand out of the cell and mashes the soldier's head on to the cell bars. The soldier was knocked out cold, and Soap quickly grabbed the cell keys. Within seconds, the two of us were freed out of the prison.

Soap throws me the Type 56, then grabs the knife and slowly proceeded down the hallway. As the next guard headed down the hall, Soap drives the army knife deep into the chest, at the same time covering the soldier's mouth. Soap then grabs the other assault rifle, and the two of us quiet snuck down the prison hallway.

"Didn't think you would speak mandarin." I said.

"Had to learn it during my missions in Asia."

"Nice." I said, then slowly proceeded to an open area. "Any idea where we are?"

"No clue exactly, but we should still be in the slums."

Suddenly, the bells in the base sounded off. Looks like they found the empty prison cells.

I hear guards screaming behind us, and assault rifles were fired immediately following that.

"Go!" Soap shouts, running across the open area and firing along the way. Soldier after soldier fell as I provided cover fire for Soap. "Head to the far side near the convoy truck over there, I'll cover you!"

"Alright!" I shouted, dashing to the far side. I took cover behind the convoy, while Soap draws their fire out in the open. "Soap get down!"

I grabbed the gatling gun that was mounted on to the convoy and fired at the Chinese soldiers. Explosion after explosion occurred, with Soap running away from the fireworks.

"Drop the rifle and take this." Soap says, handing me the Type 80 machine pistol. What a weird pistol to be holding…it looks like some kind of antique weapon "We're getting out of here."

The two of us hopped on to respective motor bikes and dashed out of the depot. I held on to the type 80 and fired as we encountered any enemies on the way.

"Don't bother taking them out Tank! Focus on escaping!" Soap yells, with a voice that I can barely hear. "Get across the ledge! It's our only chance!"

In a moment of impulse, the two of us dashed over the ravine in the middle of the path. The soldiers stopped pursuing us, with MacTavish safely proceeding across the ravine. However, my bike did not make it. I was falling before I can reach the other side.

"Tank!" Soap yells out, and quickly grabbed my hand to pull me up. I groaned out loud since it was the arm that was shot earlier a few days ago. "Tank, don't let go!"

After ten minutes or so, the two of us laid nervously on the ground, gasping for air. I don't know how much time had past after that, but I felt a breeze of air flowing above us all of a sudden. The next thing I saw was Rock and Panther holding Soap, with Sonar holding me up. They finally found us. As I laid silently on a stretcher, Soap was brought to another chopper. I have to explain, or else they will put Soap into captive again.

"Sonar…you have to tell Sergeant Foley…" I started.

"Rest up, Tank. We're getting you home" Sonar says. "Everything else can wait."

Or not.


	5. Chapter 5

The moment I was dispatched from the hospital, the first thing I did is walking straight into the headquarters of TF172. Still having bandages wrapped around me, I barged straight into the blast doors, making my way into Foley's office.

…

"_Hang on Tank, you're going to be alright." Sonar says. "Hang in there, we're getting you to the hospital!"  
_

_From the distance, I can hear more people on board the chopper. It was Roast._

"_Sir, what are we going to do with MacTavish?" Rock asks. "He seems to be badly injured as well."_

"_Get him immediate medical attention." Foley orders. "Then we'll start the interrogation once he is conscious."_

…

Punching my way through the door, I walked straight up to Foley's desk. Foley doesn't seem too pleased to see me barging in without any warning.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing." Foley starts. "First you disobey a direct order, now you're barging in my office."

"Sir, you have to let MacTavish go. He and Price are not traitors."

"No can do. What is wrong with you?" Foley questions. "Why are you so supportive of him? Have you forgotten why this task force was established?"

"Of course not. We are to kill terrorists, not our own people! MacTavish never stood with Makarov!"

"Get out of my office now!" Foley shouts. "You are dismissed from any operations until further notice."

Out of despair, I walked straight out of the office feeling like I was about to explode. I cannot let this go. Makarov must be brought to light and MacTavish must be saved.

The same night, I decide to stay behind at the office to finish a report on what exactly happened on the last mission I attempted to capture MacTavish. The details of the attempt, the consequences of being captured, and the circumstances of my escape. Every single detail that will help prove that MacTavish and Price are innocent. However, after writing this report I realize it will not be enough. This will be for the record. The Task Force will not believe it, but this record will exist and may prove to be useful in the future.

Roast is on security systems, so there is no way I can possibly bypass that. I'll have to do it the hard way. However, members of team Charlie is at the armoury, and they're known for slacking. It will be pretty easy to get by those guys and sneak into the armoury. After saving my report, I silently snuck outside the empty hallways. As I approached the armoury, two team Charlie members walked out. As soon as they did, I slipped inside through the door. Walking down the long alleyway, at the same time taking the silenced USP .45 out of my holster, I quickly barged into the armoury. I raised my aim, and quickly fired at the only person that was in the armoury. Sorry.

I sealed one end of the armoury with the electronic lock, and quickly grabbed a bunch of weapons and ammunition. There will definitely be people pursuing me.

About ten seconds later, the sirens went off. I dumped all the stuff I could possibly carry into a large weapons bag and strapped it around my back. It is going to be pretty tough walking around with this. Grabbing the breaching charge on my way out, I took out a MP5K and fired at the first person I saw as soon as I walked out the second door out of the armoury. More of team Charlie's squad pursued me, and one by one I shot them down without lethal means.

…

Knock knock, I thought to myself, hammering the breaching charge on to the cell door that I researched about a couple of hours ago. This has to be MacTavish's cell. Before the explosion occurred, I pointed my MP5K and shot the guard behind me. That was close, I could've been nailed down. As soon as the charge explodes, I quickly rush in, seeing MacTavish, all beaten up sitting on a stretcher bed. I threw away my MP5K and took out two ACR Holographic Sights, throwing one to MacTavish.

"Grab the knife and USP from the bag, we're getting out of here." I finally said.

"Are you insane? You will never get away with this!" Soap says, sounding all serious and mighty. "They will never let you go with this!"

"I don't plan to. I joined TF172 to avenge Gary. Branding you as a traitor will not accomplish that goal. Hurry, I took out most of team Charlie, but Bravo will be here soon and they are a pain in the butt."

Soap followed me along the hallway, with more task force soldiers running into our way. The Bravo units are more experienced and aggressive in combat; even the Alpha squad cannot compare. The Alpha squadron is more of the stealthy type.

"They're using riot shields!" I called. "Any good ideas? I can't risk throwing grenades here!"

"Keep hitting them! They'll lose balance and you can hit them from the side!" Soap replies. "Do you have an escape plan?"

"Head to the transportation bay it's on the top floor!" I shouted, at the same time hitting the Bravo team members ahead. "Here, the door on the left will take us there!"

Soap followed me through the hallway, dashing through one room after another. Finally, we reached the loading bay with all the choppers. I closed the blast doors, and locking them electronically so that nobody can get through except blowing them apart with C4's. Doing that will take a while, and I'll be long gone with Soap if they decide on that.

"Soap, hop on the Pavelow!" I shouted, but before I can move another step, Sonar walked in front of me with holding a desert eagle in his hand. "Sonar."

"Tank, do you have any idea what you're doing." Sonar says. "This isn't worth it. You'll be branded as a traitor."

"If I went back to the 172 knowing the truth, I am betraying Gary. The truth." I said. "Sonar, I don't want to shoot you. Just let me go."

Sonar then fired at me, but at the same time I dodged. Soap and I ran up to the Pavelow, at the same time Sonar followed us. I quickly engaged into a fist fight with Sonar.

"Sonar, you have to trust me, he is innocent!" I shouted, trying to dodge the punches he kept giving me. "Trust me!"

"This is not worth it!" Sonar shouts. "You can still turn back right now. Don't make me shoot you."

Sonar then gives me a hard knock on the head, and soon I felt unconscious. Feeling cloudy at the same time, Sonar stopped and looked up. I saw Roast holding Soap hostage. It's over, captured again. However, all of a sudden Roast fires at Sonar, at the same time Soap pulled me into the Pavelow. After that, I blacked out into a coma.

…

"You're awake." Soap starts. "Guess what, we're not off the hook yet."

I then noticed we were in the middle of the airspace, running away from two migs. Roast was piloting the Pavelow, trying to dodge some of the missiles.

"Good Tank, you're awake. Take a RPG from the back and take the mig down!" Roast shouts. "Deploying flares!"

The next second or so, the flares drew the missiles away from the target. I grabbed an AT4 launcher and shot one of the migs down. The other one then fired another pair of heat seeking missile.

"Deploy the flares!" Soap shouts. "Deploy the damn flares!"

"There ain't no more, sir!" Roast shouts. "Bloody hell, we're going to get hit hard!"

The missile hits the Pavelow hard, and within seconds we went crashing down into the ground. The next thing I know was another blurry sight in my eyes, in a Pavelow crash site. I saw Roast and Soap already running ahead, and I quickly grabbed my equipment and followed behind them.

"I've arranged for contact out near the coast!" Roast shouts. "The crash site is getting hot, get out of there!"

I can already hear gunfire approaching from behind us, and the three of us desperately ran for our lives towards the coast. Finally, we reached the docking area after running for another 20 minutes. There at the sailboat was Nikolai, and Price standing on the yacht.


End file.
